Anti-abortion group protests at home of Hoag doctor

A week after demonstrations for and against Hoag Hospital's decision to no longer offer elective abortions, a group of anti-abortion protesters gathered in Newport Beach at the Dover Shores home of Hoag obstetrician Dr. Richard Agnew on Thursday, carrying signs, shouting and chalking messages on the sidewalk and street.

Agnew's wife Katharine said she heard noises coming from outside her home sometime between 7 and 8 p.m. and received a phone call from a neighbor, alerting her that a group of 50 to 100 people was on the sidewalk, in the street and even on her front lawn. Agnew said the protesters looked very young.

It couldn't immediately be determined what group, if any, the protesters are a part of.

Agnew, who was in bed recovering from a recent surgery, immediately called the police.

"It was frightening," she said. "They were yelling things like 'Abortionist!' and 'This house was built on blood!' It's very disturbing that they would come to the house."

When police arrived, Agnew thought about turning on the sprinklers in an effort to move the crowd back, but police warned her not to agitate them. Police dispersed the crowd, but said they did not file any trespassing or vandalism charges. The city later sent workers out to remove the chalk messages.

Agnew said that her husband had been delivering babies for 50 years and explained that they are both abortion rights supporters. She added that her and her husband were both very disappointed in Hoag's decision to no longer offer elective abortions and that she believed it was his outspoken opposition to the decision that prompted the protest.

"Hoag is a community hospital and their job is to serve the community women as well as anyone else," Agnew said. "My husband performs terminations, but not a lot of them. And some of those patients who have had various health problems wouldn't even survive childbirth if they made it through the nine months of pregnancy."

Agnew said that in 35 years of living in the area, she had never seen or experienced anything like what happened in front of her home Thursday.

"We respect the people and points of view in our community and it is unfortunate that a decision made with the community's best interest in mind has been misrepresented as a part of a larger political agenda," said Hoag spokeswoman Heidi Pallares in an email statement. "It simply is not, and it is unfortunate that some are choosing to express their views in this way."